Cooking School: Falafel with a Tahini-Yogurt Sauce and a Minty Tabouleh

There are many reasons why I love going to visit my parents in Dubai - the main one, of course, is seeing my parents and brother! But also on the top of my list is the food - the Arabic food to be exact. Regulars to my blog will know that I have lived a larger part of my younger years in the Persian Gulf countries and literally grew up on good Lebanese, Egyptian and Syrian cuisine. Thanks to the large expatriate community in these countries we had several friends from these countries who often spoilt us with their large mezzes and delicious dishes.

Usually when my mother announces "Meeta and Soeren are coming!" to her friends, she straight away gets invitations upon invitations for dinner parties or lunch get-togethers. I have a full calendar before I even have booked the tickets! It's fantastic really as I get to indulge in several delectable dishes, which often give me many ideas to try out in my own kitchen.

One of my all time favorites has got to be falafel, particularly made with a mixture of fava beans and chickpeas. Depending on where you are eating falafel you will find them made with either fava beans or chickpeas. The purists in Egypt will exclusively make falafel with fava beans, whereas in Lebanon they'll serve their falafel made with chickpeas. Having tried both I settled on making my own with a mixture of both legumes, basically as I love the flavor of fava beans and the chickpeas add a wonderful mellow, creamy highlight.

The traditional falafel originated from Egypt and were (and still are) made only with fava beans. As these wonderful fried balls of delight traveled throughout the Middle East the fava beans were replaced by chickpeas and it is indeed the chickpea falafel that has found immense popularity outside of Egypt.

Basically the legumes (whichever you choose) are soaked and if required, skinned, then they are ground or processed in a food processor with the addition of herbs and spice. Finally the individual patties are deep fried until brown and crispy. Often falafel is served as a type of sandwich in pita bread or other Arabic flat breads, topped with pickles and a tahini sauce.
Although I really like the sandwiched version, I prefer to enjoy falafel without the bread. With a side of wonderful minty tabouleh and a tangy yogurt tahini sauce, I personally find the meal more satisfying. I also like to add some sesame seeds to the falafel to give it a crunch and a lovely nutty aroma. Finally besides the cumin I also add a hint of sumac for that wonderful lemony flavor.

SumacSpice

Sumac spice is that gorgeous delicate spice often used in Arabic cuisine. Sumac spice comes from berries harvested from a bush that can be found in the wild all across the Mediterranean. Not to be confused with poison sumac plant that flourishes in North America, even if it is a close relation! The fact that it has a more agreeable tart and tangy flavor sumac spice is very often substituted for lemon or vinegar.

Dried sumac spice is made by harvesting the small berries then dried and crushed, however, it can also be used fresh. By mashing the berries the resulting sumac juice can be used to flavor various dishes and sauces.

Arabic and Lebanese dishes rely heavily on sumac spice and use it as a spice rub on meats and kebabs. It can also be added to marinades, soups and stews, rice dishes, casseroles, salad dressings, dips, and many other dishes for additional components of flavor. Or simply use sumac spice as a condiment on the table to replace salt and pepper.

Sumac spice is often available outside of the Middle Eastern territories in a ground form, but sometimes the dried whole berries can be purchased in good sorted grocery stores or ethnic markets. One of the most popular herb/spice blend where sumac is used is in a blend called Za'atar, where sumac spice is mixed with thyme, salt, fennel, and other spices. Each Middle Eastern region does have it's own blend for Za'atar but these are usually the most common spices and herbs used.

I love using sumac in salads, on pizzas, with lamb or also in risottos and pilafs. It's a lovely versatile spice and the next time you are out shopping, see if you can pick up some sumac spice. I am sure you will love it.

I make the tabouleh with bulgur but if you don’t have it on hand use couscous instead. I prefer the course texture of bulgur, parsley and mint add a delicious herby flavor and sumac rounds it up perfectly.

Drain water from both, fava beans and chickpeas. Put both legumes in a food processor, along with the onions, garlic, parsley and mint and process until smooth.

Add the egg yolk, breadcrumbs and chickpea flour and process further. You should have a thick paste-like consistency. Season with 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, cumin powder and sumac. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

With the falafel mixture make walnut sized balls and lightly roll in some sesame seeds. If the mixture begins to stick to your hands, moist them in cold water.

Heat the oil in a deep fat fryer or a large pot to approx. 180 degrees C.

Add a few of the falafel balls into the hot oil and fry for 2-3 minutes, turning the balls so that they evenly brown on all sides. Allow to drain on kitchen paper towels.

Yogurt Tahini Sauce

Add tahini paste, yogurt, garlic, lime juice and olive oil in a bowl and using a pureeing machine mix the mixture well.

To see if the oil has reached the right temperature place the handle of a wooden spoon in the oil and if small bubbles form around the handle your oil is ready.

While frying the falafels only add a few balls to the pot at one time so that they do not stick to each other while frying.

Verdict

A palatable meal to say the least. Soeren can pretty much dive into the yogurt tahini dip. I have to make double portions as he wants it spread on almost everything - sandwiches, wraps etc. The falafel are his favorite and usually, if we have leftovers, he wants it in a sandwich for his lunchbox. Tom and I love the mixture between the hot falafel, blanketed with the nutty flavors of the the tahini sauce and the cool refreshing tabouleh.

It's Soeren's birthday next week so my weekend is going to be busy with baking and preparations. Hope you all have a great scrumptious weekend!
Hugs!

Like you, I also spent almost entire part of my life in middle east...And for sure falafel is one among the favorite arabic food....And tahini sauce is perfect with it...Have to try tahini sauce soon...thx for the recipe!...

I have a dream of making falafel in a waffle iron but have never managed to get it right. Now that I type this I guess is sounds stupid--but I just thought it would be a great way to make a sandwich. Anyway, they look delicious and I am glad to read more about sumac.

oh my! its 8.10 in the morning here in India....and my mouth is watering meeta!!!!i just love falafel! As vegetarians we would only get to eat falafel with salad and french fries in pita bread as a proper dinner in denmark!!!!!!!oh i miss it.....but with ur recipe may b one of these days i can prepare the same!

thank you so much for the comments. although it is available in many mid. eastern countries the fava bean/chickpea combination is still not as popular as the chickpea alone. i find adding both brings out a lovely flavor!

the egg is really only to bind it so that, as @Peter G said, it does not break up while frying.

HI Meeta. I am glad I found your blog. I am looking forward to reading through the archives. You have a picture of ALMOND NOUGAT next to your "Reviews and Advertising" section. Could you please provide recipe or a link to that. Thank you. Farzana

If you have family or friends in the place you are visiting you can definitely enjoy the food even more. They know where the good stuff is and how to prepare it. The food in this post is completely new to me, but I would love to try it. I am always opened for new possibilities!

its great to have a recipe for falafel! we had some a few nights ago, because we LOVE falafel in my house, but we always make it from the mixes. i am sure home made tastes 100x better! cant wait to try it out

Excellent, love flafel and flafel sandwhich, being a veggie lover, i absolutely love it alone and in pita bread, living here in ME, i often get a chance to munch it, and its so cheap ;) but i wannto try it at home also ,thanks

Ben - I hope you give this a try. Arabic food especially falafel with a thick tahini sauce is a scrumptious pleasure for sure.

Liz - you're on girl!

ANON 1 - you can store the mixture in the fridge for a few hours. I have never frozen the mix myself as I make this as fresh as possible. I am not sure if freezing the mixture would be such a great idea due the the extra moisture that the mix would soak up. Of course you can fry the falafel and keep them in the fridge for a day. Then bake them in the oven to re-heat them. They won't be as fresh though.

Sylvia - hope you try the fresh version. I know you'll love it!

ANON 2 - thank you for the compliment. Can you tell me more on my broken header? I am viewing it fine on both Firefox (3.0.1) and Explorer 8. Which browser are you using?

This looks SOOOOOO good.It's dinner time here and I wished I coukld have this instead of my chicken sweet potatoes and green beans....I will try it soon.Thanks so much so sharing. I have been on your site for 45 minutes getting real hungry. Can't wait to try all the yummy food here!

You've been a constant source of inspiration to me :-) Not only are your recipes wonderful, but the photographs breathtaking as well. I just tried out your Falafel recipe and they ended up tasting fantastic. My husband is over the moon. I'm also planning on making your orange cake for Halloween this year. Thanks for being a wonderful role model :-)

Meeta, absolutely gorgeous falafel. The strange and very coincidental thing is that I recently made some popcorn chicken and I styled my pictures almost exactly like yours!!! Wrapped with newspapers with a wood background!!! I haven't posted it yet though, will do so in a few days. This is like deja vu but your photos are so much better than mine, as always! :)

Thank you for visiting What's For Lunch, Honey? and taking time to browse through my recipes, listen to my ramblings and enjoy my photographs. I appreciate all your comments, feedback and input. I will answer your questions to my best knowledge and respond to your comments as soon as possible.

In the meantime I hope you enjoy your stay here and that I was able to make this an experience for your senses.

Hello, I am Meeta a freelance food photographer, stylist and writer living in the cuturally rich city of Weimar, Germany with my husband and our son, where I enjoy preparing multi-cultural home cooked meals with fresh organic ingredients. What's for lunch, Honey? is my award winning food blog where I combine my love for food with my love for photography and styling...